Samuel Chukwueze: Arsenal closing in on signing second Nigeria Under-17 World Cup star

Arsenal are on the brink of confirming two new additions to their academy.Getty Images

Arsenal are on the brink of completing the signing of Nigeria Under-17 World Cup winner Samuel Chukwueze, after the player flew into London to finalise his move to the Emirates Stadium. The 16-year-old will become the second player from the victorious side to agree a move to the Gunners, after Kelechi Nwakali upped sticks to the nation's capital two weeks ago.

Chukwueze has been given a British entry visa and is now free to complete his move to the Premier League giants, a move that has been long in the making, having undergone talks last month. Both he and international counterpart Nwakali will sign youth contracts with the club and must wait until they turn 18 to pen senior deals.

Nwakali and Chukwueze were brought to the attention of Arsenal during Nigeria's successful Under-17 World Cup campaign, where both players played a significant role in inspiring their team to victory. Nwakali was the captain of the side and voted the player of the tournament, while Chukwueze was a key figure in midfield with three goals and three assists.

"My trip to London is on Monday night," Chukwueze told AfricanFootball.com. "I'm happy that everything is going well and I will do my best when I get there by the grace of God. Arsenal as you well know are a very good club and it will be good for my career since I will be able to learn many new things. I like Arsenal because they are a club who give young players the opportunity to showcase their talents and I believe I would be given the chance to play too."

Despite the two deals only being on youth contracts, Arsenal have a long history of keeping supporters abreast of the latest additions to their academy, so an announcement regarding the arrival of the pair is expected in the coming weeks. Wenger said in January that the deal to bring the pair to North London was a complex one, but nevertheless did not expect to see it held up.

"There are of course work permit issues, medical issues, but it is progressing well," the French coach said. "We identified him [Nwakali] after he won player of the tournament [at the under-17 World Cup], he is a top player, we will see if we can manage to get it over the line."